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Letter from the Chairman... On behalf of our Section's Chairpersons and Directors, I hope everyone enjoyed their Holidays with loved ones and I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. During this new year, your Section officers will be working very hard to create new ideas and ways that will generate greater interest and participation from our current members. One of our main goals is to keep our members active while trying to recruit new ones. It's important to know that any member can assist the Section as a new, or returning, board member or as a volunteer. Just call an SPE officer, their numbers are found on the back of the Newsletter, and let them know that you are interested in one of Section's programs. So please join us at one of our board meetings on the first Wednesday of each month. Any assistance you can provide is welcomed. As your are already aware, our industry has taken a major step backwards due to declining oil prices. Local producers have had to cut back their staff and are unsure of their own futures should this trend continue. I know this makes everyone's job tougher in these uncertain times. Yet, when you think of it, most of us seem to have been programmed to move forward even after we've taken a couple of steps sideways or backwards. We'll get through this one way or another. For those of you that had to separate from your jobs, we wish you well and commend you for your service and support to a very important industry. I hope, if it's possible, that you can remain a member and continue to receive our Newsletter. We'll make it a point to keep you informed as to our Schedule of Events, job postings, and any other bit of information that may be helpful to you. Again, thanks for your contribution, from all of us at the LA Basin Section of SPE. Ed Santiago
SCHEDULE of EVENTS Board of Directors Meeting Petroleum Technology Forum New Technology & Environmental Forum PTTC West Coast Workshop
PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY FORUM Ed Santiago Chairman, DOGGR (714) 816-6847 LUNCHEON FORUM: DATE: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 TIME: 11:30 am - Social PLACE: Long Beach Petroleum Club COST: $13.00 General, $5.00 Student RESERVATIONS: Not Required SPEAKER: Bruce W. Davis TOPIC: Driven by the prospect of low oil prices for the foreseeable future (No. Sea Brent, $10.26/bbl of Dec. 7th), partnerships and mergers are occurring with blinding speed. By the time of this presentation, the situation may be different, but the industry will never be the same. Still reeling from an "unthinkable" merger between Exxon and Mobil, speculation and rumors proliferate concerning the remaining "middle size" U.S. players such as Chevron, Texaco, and ARCO. Such speculation also applies to several other smaller players both in the U.S. and abroad. The bottom line is that the oil and gas business is imploding and there well be fewer oil companies in the immediate future. Given this scenario, what is the long term picture? Oil companies have been highly successful, not only in expanding development of existing resources and improving recovery techniques, but in finding and developing significant new fields around the world. Short of an international crisis, the era of primary and secondary production will go well beyond earlier estimates. Nonetheless the long term picture is still not one of surplus, since fossil fuels are a finite resource and demand will continue to increase from a world population which should reach about 8 billion in about 25 years. It is clear that the age of fossil fuels will be largely over in another century or two, but in the course of that time we will rediscover and improve enhanced oil recovery techniques and witness their extensive application.
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NEW TECHNOLOGY and ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Vivian Bust ENV America, Inc. (714) 653-6329 Temporary Suspension of New Technology On reviewing our Forum's attendance over the last year, the Forum's officers have reluctantly agreed that these meetings should be temporarily suspended. Typically those attending are three of the Forum's officers, three speakers and moderator and four or five others. Such a low turn out is a disappointment to the officers who have selected what they believe are unique topics of general interest and persons they believe are good speakers. The low attendance is, of course, discouraging to the invited speakers. We have attempted to perpetuate the Forum's unique format by different meeting schedules and careful selection of topics. The schedule changes, while initially well received, have not resulted in sustained increases in attendance. The officers of this forum encourage your attendance at the Long Beach SPE Forum's meetings (normally the second Tuesday of every month), the PTTC Forums (normally operationally oriented for independent producers), and the Long Beach Desk & Derrick Club (the third Wednesday evening). The schedule for these are contained in the LA Basin Section's Newsletter. When the industry climate improves, consideration will be given to reactivating the Forum which dates back over 35 years. If you have any comments or suggestions please sent them to:
E. H. Mayer, Co-Forum Chairman P T T C WEST COAST WORKSHOP DATE: Friday, January 22, 1999 TIME: 8:00 am - Registration COST: $35.00 (Includes refreshments, Lunch and Workshop Materials) RESERVATIONS: Deadline January 13, 1999 PLACE: Long Beach Petroleum Club PROGRAM: "Managing Oilfield Operations Under Adverse Economics" MODERATOR: Dave Slater, Signal Hill Petroleum Long Term Impact of Temporary Shut-Downs Economics of Damage Control, M. Sollman, Halliburton Technology of Damage Control and Mitigation, L. Kalfayan, Consultant Marginal Economics, Mark Kapelke, Tidelands Oil Production Company Royalty Reduction, a Win-Win Solution, Dave Mercler, State Lands Commission Assistance Program to Producers, Jerry Evanoff, Halliburton Maximizing Hedging Efficiencies and Limiting Price Risk Exposure, Rob Gunnin, Mieco Power and Gas Div. PAG Survey of Producers Operational Problems in California, Chris Hall, PAG Chairman SPONSORED BY:
BONDING and IDLE WELL WORKSHOP Happy New Year. The new year brings new legislation that will have a significant effect on oil and gas operators in California. The new statute, SB 1763, amends a number of sections of the Public Resources Code (PRC) regarding well bonding, acquisition and long-term idle wells. The following is a brief summary of the statutory changes: Bonding: Individual indemnity bond amounts increased by $5,000. For operators with 50 or more wells, blanket bonds are increased from $100,000 to 250,000. There will be a phase in period for operators with existing blanket bonds. Idle Wells: The operator must have an idle well management plan on file, pay an annual idle well fee, establish an escrow account for each idle well or file an individual well bond. An operator with a large number of idle wells may file a $1,000,000 blanket bond. Well acquisition: Idle wells must be covered by the appropriate bonds prior to approval well transfer. The Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources will be conduction a workshop to review the implementation of SB 1763. The workshop will be held on: January 12, 1999 All operators are strongly encouraged to attend this informative meeting. Members of the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources will be available for questions. If you have any questions, contact Mike Krotovil or John Jepson at the Cypress DOGGR office, (714) 816-6847, for additional information. |
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